What Makes Autographed Sports Memorabilia Valuable?

Sports memorabilia has been around for as long as sports themselves. There have always been iconic players and people who seek to emulate or glorify those players. So, it only makes sense that their signed memorabilia is a source of prestige and wealth!

Not every signature is worth the same amount, though. Your Michael Jordan autographed basketball might be worth a boatload of money, but it might pale in comparison to an autographed Babe Ruth baseball bat. Both were superstars in their own sport… so what makes one worth so much more than the other, or any other signature?

There are actually a surprising number of factors that dictate exactly how much an autographed piece of memorabilia is worth.

• The person: The bigger the superstar, the more their signature is worth. A baseball signed by Ty Cobb is going to be worth much more than one signed by Joe Everyman.
• The item: The more relevance the item has, the more it’s worth. A Brett Favre-signed jersey is worth tons more than a t-shirt signed by Brett Favre.
• The relevance: Is there significance to the item or the signature? If so, it’ll be worth more. Hank Aaron hit 755 home runs. The signed 755th ball is worth more than any other.
• The condition: Both the condition of the item and the signature come into play when determining value. The better the condition of both, the higher the value.
• Scarcity: There are some signatures inherently worth more because of how few there are. For example, Willie Mays vintage signatures are few and far between, making them automatic targets for higher value.
• Forgery: Some signatures are prime targets for forgers, like Joe DiMaggio. He signed quite a few autographs in his day and his signature was the target of conmen, making anything signed by him automatically worth speculation.